With a Single Step
by Callista Gseran
Summary: Can two fresh-from-Saganami Midshipmen make it through their Middy cruise? Will one among them prove their undoing? This story is on hold.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note:_ This is my first attempt at writing within the Honor Harrington universe. Enjoy!

_Obligatory legal mumbo jumbo: _Honor Harrington and associated material are copyright Baen Books and David Weber. All characters are original, unless canon are used

* * *

_HMS Hexapuma_ pulled slowly away from her docking tube at _Hephestus_ station. They'd been at the yard for months following the last clash with the Peeps, and the crew was itching to be on the move again. Orders had come down from the Fifth Space Lord, taking them on a cruise that would put them far from Haven space. One person in particular was ..nervous. This was only Beth's second tour after completing her own snotty (midshipman) cruise, and she now filled the slot that put her in charge of _Hexapuma's_ snotties. Sighing, she turned away from her tactical plot, and keyed her comm, requesting that the midshipmen meet in her office in 15 minutes.

Talon prepared himself to leave for his superior's quarters, and for the inevitable leaving of the yard he'd so been looking forward to. He adjusted his black uniform so that it was perfect, and made sure the pulser gun was safe at his side. They were at war, of course, and even an officer -in-training needed to be ready. He walked for almost ten minutes before reaching the appropriate place, where the other midshipmen were entering in.

Beth looked up from the file she'd been reading as the chime at her office door announced the arrival of the midshipmen. _Hexapuma_ was running light in the Middy berths, which was unusual. With a sigh, Beth set down her pad and ejected the chip as she pinched the bridge of her nose. _'Relax, Beth... wouldn't want the Commander seeing you like this...'_ she told herself. Shrugging, she called out, "Enter!" and waited for the three midshipmen to obey.

Talon led the way of the other two, standing before Beth crisp and at attention. He and the other saluted her properly. She regarded them for a long moment, just until she could tell they were beginning to squirm. It was going to be her job to turn these young people into Queen's officers. "Stand easy, Ladies and Gentlemen." she allowed finally, her voice, carrying well across the few feet that separated them. "Welcome aboard _Hexapuma_."

Talon relaxed, for even that was an order. The others did as well, but both of them slumped, totally relaxed. Only Talon was still respectful. "Thank you, ma'am," Talon said, the first to speak. "It is an honor to be able to serve the Queen."

Lieutenant Williams allowed the barest hint of a smile to touch her lips as she gazed at the young man who had spoken. She didn't even spare a glance for the other two. She'd deal with them later. "Now then. As you know, this cruise will be your final test before you become full Officers. It won't be easy. This may be one of the hardest things you've ever done. Out here, your decision could very well mean the life of the people who serve under you. However, that does not mean that it will always be that way. You will be pushed. There will be times you will hate me. But keep in mind: all of you are here because you wanted to serve. Never forget that."

Talon gave another salute and the other two, rather worried looking, followed his example. "Yes ma'am," was all Talon said, understanding that this was it: his chance to make it or break it in the military.

Beth's gaze slid sideways as she regarded the other two. "Ladies, and gentlemen: I have reviewed your files. Each and every one of you had excellent marks. However," and her voice took on an edge of steel as she turned fully to the other Midshipmen. "When a superior asks something of you, you respond, 'Yes, Ma'am' or 'Thank You, Ma'am!' is that clear?"

"Yes ma'am!" they all rang out, Talon for the second time. Talon watched her eyes change, her voice take a razor's edge, and suddenly realized this wasn't going to be the cakewalk he'd anticipated.

For a long moment, her gaze bored into each of them in turn. "You may think that because of your family's wealth or position, that such will get you preferential treatment. Let me remind you, Ladies and Gentlemen; this is a Queen's ship. You are here on your Middy cruise. If you do well, you will continue on in the Service. However," and here her voice went quiet...almost dangerous. "If you shirk you duty, you can rest assured that you will be disciplined according to the Articles of War."

Talon and the others chanted, "Yes, ma'am," again, understanding fully from their time in the Academy exactly what those 'disciplines' would entail. The Middies saluted their Lieutenant, each standing as clean and crisp as they could. Only Talon, however, looked a little disturbed. He knew the Navy was tough and strict, but something about all this precaution ate at him. _And he surely wasn't from a prestigious noble house. Why had Beth mentioned that?_

"Now then..." and her voice was calmer. "You should all go get settled into the middy berths if you haven't already." She noticed not one of them had a countergrav locker in tow, so they must have. "You'll have 6 hours to yourselves. I'll have your duty assignments posted to Hexapuma's net within the hour. Dismissed."

Talon and the others saluted their superior, and the two other middies left. Talon turned as well, but stopped at the door an d turned around to face her again. "Permission to speak, ma'am?" he asked, his eyes still strangely set with a determination of some kind.

Beth felt an eyebrow crept upwards, and she gestured towards the chair in front of her desk as she shuffled datacards out of the way. "What can I do for you, Mr. Sky?" She could tell something was bothering him, and part of her hoped he hadn't taken offense to her little speech. She knew there was at least one of noble blood among the Middies, and she didn't want it going to his head.

Talon sat across from Beth, nodding his head. He was still fresh from Academy, still very tight and formal. "I was wondering, ma'am, about our post," he said. "I saw the system announcement, but the briefing was very vague. Almost like we're not being told everything about the assignment." Talon bowed his head. "I apologize if I speak out of turn. Have no doubt my dedication to the Queen and this crew, ma'am, I am simply wondering where my skills would best be laid."

Beth's forehead creased slightly as she gazed at the young man who sat across from her. "There's only so much I can tell you until the Captain makes the official announcement. I do know, however, that we will be quite a ways from any Peep Navy units. We're going to Yeltsin's Star... to Grayson." She sighed. "Unfortunately, I don't even know everything, and some of that is for security reasons.' She smiled briefly.

"That brings me to your next question. You have sound tactical skills, and your scores are excellent. We do have a small security detachment in addition to Hexapuma's Marine contingent. You'd most likely be working closely with them."

At this she held up a finger to forestall his comment. "Keep in mind, that your assignment to the detachment could be seen as favoritism by your fellow Middies. Normally, we rotate all the middies through departments. I'll still have to rotate you through every so often to ah, round out your education." Her eyes twinkled momentarily, "but I can see from your file that putting you anywhere else for too long could dull your skills."

Talon nodded, a smile coming to his face. "Thank you, ma'am," he said. Talon had studied Tactics in the Academy, but unlike his other classmates, he wasn't interested very much in captaining a ship. Talon loved the ebb and flow of combat, and excelled in commanding and executing procedures. He'd have been better suited for the Marines, but had ultimately decided the Navy would show him more of the universe. "And of course. I am here to learn and serve, after all. I probably wouldn't be satisfied if I didn't at least try each position."

Beth's eyebrow climbed a few centimeters again. "Mr. Sky...may I ask why you chose the Navy over the Marines? Your skill set seems rather well suited to the Marines..."

Talon smiled. "Family preference, ma'am," he explained simply. "One who comes from a family of Naval Officers does not join the Marines, what with their rivalry and all," he chuckled. "I may ask for a lateral transfer over one day, but I hope to prove my service valuable to the Navy as well. The Queen will be served no matter my course, I assure you." Talon cleared his throat. "Er, _ma'am_," he tacked on.

Beth's mouth twitched at his slip. "I'll keep that in mind, then. In the mean time, your duty assignment will be to assist me .. and by extension the Marines aboard _Hexapuma_ should we have a need for their services. Currently, they provide a round-the-clock sentry on the Captain's quarters, and provide security and boarding details in the event we may need to board a ship or one of our Navy personnel is going into a potentially hostile situation. I don't foresee that happening on this cruise, but Murphy likes to mess around. I'm detailing you to be my contact person, and go between when it comes to Marine Country."

Talon nodded, thankful for the pre-opped assignment. "I won't let you down, Lieutenant," Talon promised, standing and giving her a salute. "That is all I had to ask, ma'am," Talon concluded. "Is there anything I may do for you?"

She cracked a smile. "Go get some rest. You're going to need it. Have you been able to stow your locker in the Middy Berth?"

Talon shook his head. "No ma'am, I just arrived when your com called for the middies," he said. He had a basic idea of where to go, however, having learned of standard HMS layouts. She cocked her head for a moment before handing him a datachip. "Here are your orders. The Chief can point you in the proper direction." After all, she couldn't give him all the answers. That was, what a Middy cruise was about. "Dismissed, Mr. Sky..." She gestured to the door to her office, hoping that he really would get some rest.

Talon thanked Beth and left her office, following her suggestion to find the Chief and his quarters. It had been a rather exciting day; a few hour's sleep and trimming up would be nice.

Beth sat staring at her now closed door for a long moment, tipping her chair back as she sat in thought. 'That young man has the makings of a fine officer. I just hope it can stay that way.' Again, she glanced at his file. He was from Manticore, while Beth was from Sphinx, a world that had a significantly longer solar year than Manticore.

Talon found his berth on his own, following his own instincts and knowledge. He opened the middy quarters, noting that the others were already inside. Walking inside, Talon gave his fellows a smile and a nod, watching to see if they would return it. Talon had already shown he was more courageous then them, and had probably embarrassed them.

The other two people in the common area looked up briefly. They were both studying. There were two empty bunks, both fitted with brackets to hold Talon's countergrav locker. The other male Midshipman went back to his reading, and seemed to forget Talon was even there. But the young woman allowed a small nervous smile. "I'm glad you found your way, it can be a maze in here."

Talon smiled back. "Yeah, nothing like the small-scale sims at the Academy," he commented, fully coming into the room. His countergrav locker lay on his bed, packed already, and Tom lifted it to examine it. He did not smile. "Rather useless technology, even if widespread," he said aloud, thinking.

The young woman raised an eyebrow. "What? Are you saying you WANT to lug a 50 plus kilo locker by hand through the crowded galleries of spacedock _Hephestus_?" She sounded skeptical. "The countergrav and tether allow you to keep track of your belongings better. Think about it. How would it look if you had left your locker in the care of a dock worker, and Hexapuma broke free of the station before it got onboard?"

Talon looked at her. "I know it's uses, I just don't carry enough possessions on me to get much use of it. Clothes are what I mostly own, not much else in terms of possessions or heirlooms." Talon simply shrugged it off and climbed into bed. "Whatcha studying?" he asked innocently.

Sharon sighed, but then grinned a little. "Just reading up on some tactical stuff. Grapevine says the Lieutenant likes to quiz her Middies..." After a moment, she brushed her dark hair away from her face.\

Talon nodded. "Wouldn't surprise me." Tom opened his locker and grabbed his own old tactics book, flipping it open to a random page. He'd already read the sizable book many times over. He closed it, rolling over onto his back.

She watched Talon for a moment, snorting softly as she saw him roll over. If he wasn't going to study, that was his problem. She didn't know him that well personally, and the other male midshipman just made her skin crawl. Shaking her head, she turned back to her own studying, ignoring the room's other occupant.

Talon sighed and closed his eyes. He wanted to sleep a little, and his right hand moved to his left. He set the alarm on his wristwatch to go off in four hours. He'd shower and dress after that, unless his roommates needed him before that.

Four hours later, Talon awoke when his alarm went off. He got up and showered, then dressed in his proper uniform, ready for his duties.

Beth had been busy. She'd met with the Captain, an older man of Gryphon descent. Captain Harriman was a by-the-book kind of man, but he also enjoyed testing his crew. It had helped bring them together into a unit over the last three T-years that Beth had been aboard. Again, she glanced down at her padd and allowed a grin to pass over her face.

The _Hexapuma's_ tac officer was... a genius. The simulation that he'd proposed would push the middies. Then she keyed her comm, directly to the Midshipmen berth. "This is Lieutenant Williams. All Midshipmen: report to AuxCon in 20 minutes."

Talon made sure he was properly equipped, and waited patiently for the others to be ready so they could head down as a group. "Training Sim?" Talon guessed aloud, smiling.

Sharon grinned and shrugged as she hefted her skinsuit's helmet, casting an eye towards their companion. His skinsuit was tailored. That could mean only one thing: his family had money. Rolling her eyes in Talon's direction, she spoke to both of them, gesturing Talon through the hatch first, as the one with the better class standing. "Let's go... wouldn't do to be late..."

Talon led the way, not missing Sharon's glance nor her observation, for he'd noticed it too. Their little friend barely spoke to them, but Talon lagged behind a few steps and patted him on the shoulder of his skinsuit nonetheless. He let Sharon lead, realizing she actually knew where she might be going.

Mentally, Sharon shook her head. Nothing good could possibly come from socializing with the son of the Earl of North Hollow. She just hoped Talon knew what he was doing. She began pointing out a few things along the short walk to the lift tube, quizzing them. Soon enough, the lift tube deposited them several decks down and in the bowels of the ship, half-way between the double ended spindle of an impeller-driven ship of the wall.

Talon did not make too merry with their famous companion, any more then he had with Sharon ... perhaps a little less. But where she nearly shunned him, Talon meant to at least make him feel welcome among them. Finally the lift-tube brought them to AuxCon, and Talon once again took the lead. He stayed a single stride before the other two middies as was prudent, not too far that he seemed pompous. This midshipman knew his homework.

Beth turned, hearing their booted feet on the decksole. "Good, you're here." She thought a moment, and assigned Sharon to communications, Talon to Tactical and Ernest Young (North Hollow) to help Sharon. She however, had a slightly higher class standing than Young. Beth could see the young man's shoulders twitch as he made his way to the assistant's station next to Sharon. Beth leaned back in the command chair, her helmet racked neatly on the back.

"Now then, ladies and gentlemen. I have been informed of a Silesian convoy headed towards our vector. The Sollies are quite a ways from the Solarian League. Why don't we go see what they're up to...?" She tried very hard to keep the twinkle from her eye. The tac officer in her was almost rubbing her hands together in glee.

Talon nodded, understanding his purpose. "A wise choice, Lieutenant," he said, already into the Sim. He acted his part perfectly...for him, every Sim was real, a true test. It was what made him so good at them.

With a nod from the XO, Beth turned back to her station, her hands flying over the controls as she directed _Hexapuma_'s passive sensors towards the approaching vessels. She knew she didn't dare roll ship to clear the wedge. That would have been a dead giveaway that _Hexapuma_ was a military craft. Instead, she focused in with the passive sensors, diverting some of the task to Talon's board as she spoke quietly. "Mr. Sky... I need you to see if you can get a better read off the convoy... we need to know if its pirates, Navy, or a merchie convoy. Use passives, though try to refine the data as you can..." She pointed to her tactical repeater, which showed the three vessels each surrounded with a strobing amber marker, denoting them as unknowns, except for their IDs.

"Yes, ma'am," Talon said, his face already over his screen and fingers flying. There was a certain diplomatic protocol to all this, but he was quick and knew how to run the ID's against Manticore's data system. "The ID's are merchants," Talon reported, but his eyes were still flickering. "But their engine specs and output aren't protocol. Either they're illegally modified, or..._pirates_," Talon confirmed. "I see them positioning in an attack formation, at least precautionary." He turned to face Beth, waiting for more instructions.

"Thank you, Mr. Sky, good work..." she said, just loud enough for the XO to hear, so he knew who had made the discovery. With a few taps of her own board, she sent the data to the XO's console. Commander Stone glanced down at the information as it appeared on the tactical repeater by his left knee, and frowned. The young man had done good work indeed. It took a trained eye to spot something like that. After a moment's consideration, he said, "Action stations! Actions stations!" Around him, the officers of Aux Con began securing themselves, and donning their helmets. Stone then turned to Tactical, "Bring up Missile Two, and load one...fire across their bow in...3..2..1!"

As he finished, Beth's finger stabbed the firing key, even as she had Talon begin working on a firing solution to feed into the computer. As Beth went about her task, the XO turned to communications, and Sharon and Young. "Comm, send message as follows: Solarian vessel, you are ordered to heave to and state your business." Sharon pressed her finger to the earpiece in her ear, listening to the recording before she looked at the XO and nodded. "Good copy, sir." Stone returned the gesture. "Send it and let's see what happens."

Talon listened intently as well. As assistant Tactical, he had to be ready to follow whatever Beth or Commander Stone ordered in a moment's notice. All information he had before the orders were given would expedite this. Talon spoke aloud to Beth. "Lieutenant. Impellers discovered, as well as weapon specs. Transferring data," he said, even as he'd pressed the button.

"Thank you, Mr. Sky..." she allowed a faint smile to touch her lips. He was rather quick on the uptake. Talon took the compliment in stride, his fingers already flying across the keyboard again. He tracked every movement the enemy ships made, as well as tried to pin down by energy output exactly how much of a threat these ships were. They still hadn't responded to Beth's command of ID.

Beth nodded, and began feeding the data into the tactical computer as she devised a firing plan. Her work came to an abrupt halt as she saw the Sollie vessel roll ship. It wasn't a military vessel... they had to be insane to take on a Manty cruiser. Biting down on her lip, she called out. "Commander, they just rolled ship to..." and she was cut off as a barrage missiles slammed against Hexapuma's sidewalls. The cruise bucked, twisting as the laser heads stabbed out at her. The sidewalls tried desperately to bend the lasers, but they still got through.

Beth swore, feeling her crash restraints digging into her shoulders. "Dammit!" Beth swore, casting a quick look around AuxCon as she input her own firing sequence and hit the commit key, using Talon's data. Twenty missiles screamed out of their tubes, streaking towards the Sollie vessel on their own impellers once they were clear of _Hexapuma_. She turned to Talon. "Get me a new firing solution!" Even pirates weren't supposed to have weapons this good. Their own missiles reached the Solarian vessel. A third of them were picked off by the vessel's weak point defense... as if someone was manually controlling it. But the rest got through.

"Already on it, ma'am!" Talon called out, sending the orders out for new missiles to be packed into the respective tubes. "Set!" he called out,sending her the sequence. He was already typing up another firing solution to follow up this latest one.

Beth's eyes widened in admiration as she glanced at the firing solutions he'd fed to her console. They were targeted to take out the majority of the other vessel's broadside capability. Her eyes narrowed. Even a pirate shouldn't have that, which made it illegal. She fed the sensor data to the Commander's repeater. And instant later he snapped. "Helm, roll ship!" The navigator responded, "Rolling ship, aye!" _Hexapuma_ snapped up on her side, presenting the impenetrable belly of her wedge.

And not a moment too soon. Sollie missiles screamed across the blackness, and their laser heads lashed out at _Hexapuma_, bucking her. With a stab of her finger, Beth sent the first wave of missiles from Talon's program back towards them. This time, she watched in amazement as on the tactical plot, the Solly vessel's wedge flickered and died.

Talon had concentrated his fire there and on several key weapons. On reaction thrusters, it would take longer for the Solly to roll ship to present her undamaged broadside weapons. After a quiet order from Stone to Sharon, she typed out a message to the Solly vessel. "They are standing down sir!" A cheer went up around AuxCon, and it was at that moment that the lights came back up, signaling the end of the sim. "Excellent work, Ladies and Gentlemen." the commander said as he rose. "We'll debrief in an hour."

Talon leaned back in his chair, letting his breath out finally. Even though it was a sim, he'd gotten very into it, far more then the other middies. He wiped his forehead, sweating just a little, before standing.

"Go get some food," Beth said, loud enough for the other middies to hear her. Privately, she was impressed by how both Sharon and Talon had handled themselves. Young, on the other hand hadn't done much of anything.

Talon stood and stretched, taking Beth's suggestion to heart. He walked cheerfully up to Sharon and Young, the latter of which did not look up at Talon. "That was awesome!" he exclaimed, throwing a fist into the air. "We are gonna be the middies of the year," Talon joked.

Sharon smiled, and her eyes twinkled. "There's more where that came from, Sky... let's go get some food." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Lieutenant making her way to the lift tube. The sim had gone rather well. But she knew that she couldn't be the only one who had noticed Young's lack of participation. She vowed to talk to Beth if no one else did.

Talon nodded, and prodded Young. The second Middy rose, shrugging noncommittally. Talon, however, was still pumping and gun-ho. "To the mess hall," he chuckled. "Er, you know, if you guys know where it is."

Sharon just grinned. "Come on... it's 3 decks up. I'm hungry!" She thumped Talon on the shoulder. His firing solution had saved their butts. She had to admit, he was a gifted tactician. Reaching the lift tube, she gestured the others ahead and entered, selecting their destination. Young was even more quiet than normal, and that worried her. She resolved to keep an eye on him. She knew some in the nobility didn't react well when someone showed them up.


	2. Chapter 2

Talon seemed not to notice Young's mood, but Young certainly saw the Sharon had picked up on it. He shrugged off Talon's advances of friendship before, but now he was absolutely cold to them. After all, who were these peasants to try and outdo him? Natural talent should out-shine everything else, after all.

Talon stayed cheerful though and pleasantly talked to them both as the lift shot upwards.

The ride to the Warrant officer's mess was rather silent. Sharon straightened her shoulders, trying to shake off the weird feeling she'd gotten from Young. Being the junior based on her scores, she gestured Young and Talon through the hatch first.

Talon picked a tray and piled some of the food available onto it. The food was rather generic, but he'd heard worse horror stories.

Sharon sighed, and selected a salad with a small bowl of pasta. At least it was better than combat rations. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Young wrinkle his nose, but he selected something reluctantly. After they had made their choices, she led them to a corner table. Being in here was like being admitted to an exclusive club on a provisional basis.

Young, however, walked past the table without a word. Another table, seating more noble officers, was waving him over. Talon frowned for the first time and promptly sat alone at the table, across from Sharon. "Prick," he mumbled, stabbing his fork into his 'meat'. Talon was starting to think Sharon had picked better food.

Sharon snorted. "I've been thinking that since I met the guy... He's rather full of himself. Apparently, his father's the Earl of North Hollow or some such..." She rolled her eyes at that, and then glanced across the table at him. "You sure you want to eat that...?"

Talon shrugged. "Meh, what's the worst that could happen?" he mused, taking a bite. His hazel eyes rather lit up, and he let out a surprised hmm! "Not bad," he finally qualified, chuckling. "So, you did great in AuxCon, Sharon."

Sharon grinned. "Thanks...except for wonderboy over there." She shrugged and took a few bites of her salad. "You did pretty well yourself, and the Lieutenant seemed to think so as well.."

Talon smiled. "Great start, maybe it's an omen for a pleasant voyage," he mused, 'toasting' Sharon with his glass of water. He turned back to his food and started to devour it, hunger finally taking hold of him.

Sharon grinned a little and turned her attention to her own meal, keeping an eye on the chrono on the wall. They still had a bit more than 45 minutes. "You know, Talon..." she said after a moment, "How did you even notice something like the slight difference in their impeller signature...?" Her voice was curious.

Talon chuckled. "Luck," he said, leaning back in his chair. "Blind, stupid luck. In Academy, I had a similar situation stir up. I had to quickly learn exactly what the impeller signature of a standard merchant ship looked like," he explained. "Once you learn a little bit, the differences stand out rather boldly."

Sharon smiled around the rim of her juice glass. "I'm glad you caught it... could have ended badly otherwise... that ship had a lot more weapons than even a pirate vessel... almost like it was a ship of the wall that had been converted..." She shrugged.

Talon nodded. "That is entirely possible, isn't it?" he asked. Of course, he hadn't asked how likely it was.

Sharon snorted. "Possible yes... likely? Not so much..." she sighed and chased the rest of her salad around her plate before looking at the wall chrono. They now had 30 minutes. "We should probably go change back into duty uniforms before the debrief..."

"Agreed," Talon said as he rose. He shot a glance at Young, a frown coming across his face. He thought of going and reminding Young, but turned away. "He's a big boy," Talon mumbled.

Sharon snorted. "He can handle himself. Let's just worry about ourselves for now..." She gathered up her plated and deposited them in the recycler before turning to the wardroom hatch. She was already running through things in her head. The lift tube was only a short walk.

Talon followed Sharon, silent for once. He had really hoped to feel the same shade of camaraderie with Young that he'd found with the other guys at Academy, but that simply wasn't going to happen. He put his tray in the recycler and got into the lift tube after a few short strides, and then they were on their way back to the berth.

The ride up to the middy berth was quiet. Sharon knew intellectually why Young was acting as he was, but she still couldn't completely wrap her mind around it. Instead of working together, Young was distancing himself. As if by the simple fact of kissing up to his seniors he would pass. This was, after all, their final test to see if they truly had what it took to be Queen's Officers. With a sigh, she stepped from the lift car and made her way down the corridor to the middy berth. Stepping through the hatch, she made a beeline for the showers, grabbing her duty uniform on the way along with a towel.

Talon went for his new uniform that was laying out. They only had twenty five minutes, so he wiped down and started dressing. He left a note for Sharon to wake him, and then dressed and laid down. He would shower when they were off duty. Talon never saw Young slip in, anger on his face, and walk into the showers.

Sharon's skinsuit hung next to the shower stall, her uniform tunic and pants folded neatly on the stool as she scrubbed clean. The skin suit always made her a little itchy. Rinsing her hair, she twisted out the excess water, and reached for a towel. With the steam from the shower, she never saw Young.

Young crossed his arms, a cocky smile crossing his face when he thought about what was just beyond that steam. But there was no time for that. He leaned against the opposite wall, near Sharon's clothes, so she wouldn't have any choice but to see him before she could slip away or towards the door at the far end of the room.

With a sigh, she stepped from the shower, the towel wrapped around her middle. As she turned around, she froze. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Young all but lounging against the opposite wall. "What do _you_ want...?" Her voice was low, and she moved sideways trying to get past him.

Young pointedly stepped in front of Sharon, not uncrossing his arms. "A word with the 'queen bee'," he mocked, his eyes flashing dangerously. "You made me look bad today, miss priss. You and the little hotshot out there," Young said in little more then a growl. "Look, when we're officers and on our own merry little ways, shine all you like. But until then, it's...in your best interest to let me look better then you."

Sharon's eye narrowed. She wasn't about to let some ..._prince_ have his way simply because of who he was. Her lips thinned and she moved sideways. "If you haven't noticed... you didn't do _anything_ during the sim. I did all the work. And you think that you deserve the credit for the work I did?" Her voice dropped to a hiss, but had a hard edge. "Think again, Young..." She roughly tried to brush past him.

Young reached out and roughly grabbed Sharon's arm, spinning her...and almost dislodging her towel. "The sim wasn't fair!" he growled, stepping so close they were nearly touching. "It was designed for you and Talon to play your roles!"

Sharon clutched at her towel barely keeping her modesty. "No it wasn't. If you were worth the threads of the uniform you wear, you'd have risen to the challenge. But from what I saw, we did all the work while you sat back and watched. How can we possibly depend on you if it were real!" She twisted in his grip, her right hand forming a fist as she swung it towards his jaw; her defensive training kicking in.

Young caught Sharon's fist and bent it back, bending her wrist. "It was a sim," he growled. "You managed to handle everything, great for you! You and your bloody talent left nothing for me to do."

With a shove, Young pushed Sharon back. The floor was moist and slick. "Remember what I told you," he hissed. "My family is far more influential then yours..._peasant_."

Sharon gritted her teeth against the pain, flailing as she fell to the slick decksole. The towel slipped from her grasp as she fell hard, her back contacting the edge of the shower stall, She sat there for a moment, dazed. Her cheeks burned as she realized she was now exposed to him. Hastily, she gathered up her towel and draped it around herself, but the damage was done. Her gaze was murderous. _'How can I possibly hope to win against him...?'_

The door nearly blasted open, Talon standing there in full uniform, his pulser drawn. He'd heard the scuffle, heard Sharon fall. Young stood there eyeing the pulser, and slowly raised his hands. "No need to-"

"Shove a plasma baton in it," Talon growled warningly. "This is a military vessel not some high school prom limo, wonderboy." Young's eyes grew into furious orbs, and he stepped back. "You son of a-! My father will hear about this!"

"And your father will hear about _this_," Talon warned, gesturing towards Sharon with his head. Young seemed to have gotten the point and stormed past Talon, who did not lower his pulser until they heard the door shut.

Slowly, Sharon looked up. Her hands were shaking and her face pale even in the presence of a blush of embarrassed anger. Gingerly, she rubbed the back of her head before she spoke. "I hate him! He thinks he can get by in the Navy purely on who he is!" Her voice was an angry pained hiss. Stiffly, she rose to her feet and grabbed her duty uniform, but not before she swayed unsteadily. Her wrist ached where he had wrenched it. "I need to get ready for the debrief..." she said softly, as if she were trying to find anything to distract herself. They now had 15 minutes.

Talon looked over Sharon, still not smiling. "The debrief? Sharon, you need medical attention. Your wrist looks sprained...and besides, you have to report this. If you don't, Young _will_."

Sharon sagged. "You're right... give me 5 minutes. Go ahead to the briefing if you need to. I'll go to medical." She rubbed her wrist gently before she ducked into the stall to change. Five minutes later, she reappeared, straightening her uniform tunic. "I'll be fine, Talon. Someone needs to go to the briefing and head Young off. Though, knowing the Lieutenant, she won't believe him. I get the feeling she's dealt with his kind before..." She smiled weakly at that.

Talon slowly nodded his head. "I'll go to the debrief...just be watchful, okay?" he asked, heading for the door. "And even if she doesn't believe Young, a coin without two sides always flips one way." And with that, Talon left and made his way to the meeting.

Nodding mutely, Sharon watched Talon's retreating back, his squared shoulders beneath the space-black tunic told her one thing: He wanted justice. With a muttered curse, she brushed out her hair and gathered it in a bun at the base of her skull before she settled the black beret on her head. Then she headed down to medical.

Talon got to the briefing room just in time, and took his appointed seat in the section where middies were placed. Neither Sharon nor Young was there, as Talon had expected. Well, he actually expected Sharon to show up instead of going to medical, but that was besides the point.

Beth glanced up from her pad, her gaze sliding to the end of the table where the Middies usually sat... and to the two empty chairs. Her eyebrows rose, and her gaze slid to Commander Stone for a moment. As he noticed, his forehead creased beneath his short-cropped brown hair. "Thank you all for coming, I know this was rather short notice. You all did an excellent job." He went on to outline the sim, pointing out where the middies had done well, as well as some areas they could improve, though those were few.

He seemed quite satisfied with their performance, though he pointedly didn't look at Young's chair. When he finished, he turned the meeting over to Beth and just observed. Now that the main purpose was out of the way, Beth, turned to Talon. "Mr Sky... could you tell me where Ms. Ashford and Mr. Young are..?" She raised an eyebrow inviting him to continue.

Talon nodded. "Ms. Ashford is in medical, ma'am. She and Mr. Young had an... altercation," Talon phrased, not wanting Beth to think he'd taken sides or added to the story. "I don't know the full situation, I only stepped in near the end to break it up. I am unsure where Mr. Young reported to," Talon added honestly, no smile on his usual cheerful face.

Beth's lips thinned, and she nodded before sharing a glance with Commander Stone. The latter's eyes went slightly flinty. Then she looked back to Talon. "Thank you, Mr. Sky, I shall corroborate with her after we are finished here." She sighed then and tipped her chair back, pinching the bridge of her nose. She knew something was bound to happen at some point. She was silent for a long moment.

In Medical, Sharon was glad she hadn't seen Young. Slowly, she stepped through the hatch, catching the eye of one of the sick berth attendants. "Can I help you, Ma'am?" the female attendant asked politely. Sharon nodded weakly and sank onto one of the cots. "I need to get my wrist looked at... "

The attendant nodded, taking Sharon's wrist into her kind old hands and turning it over. "My my, it's sprained, dear," the nurse said, letting Sharon have her hand back. "You fell, I assume?" Sharon shook her head, her cheeks flaming. "I uhm... I was accosted in the showers by one of the other middies... a Ernest Young," she said quietly. She shifted slightly on the cot and winced as her bruised back muscles protested.

The attendant nearly stood. This was the Navy, and female officers were not to be treated as such. "Oh no...did he...?" the nurse prodded gently, wondering if they needed to perform a rape kit.

Sharon shook her head. "He didn't... but he tossed me around pretty good... My back hurts too, I fell and clipped the edge of the shower stall." She tried to put on a brave face for the older woman, but her voice turned hard. "He thinks just because he's the son of an Earl that he can get away with anything. He thinks he deserves the credit for what I did in the sim, when he didn't do a damn thing!" She hissed in pain as her back muscles protested again.

The attendant raised her hands as she stood. "Relax, ma'am. We'll take a look at your back and then make a full report, alright?" The nurse walked behind Sharon, a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Can you lean forward?" Sharon nodded and leaned forward, resting her elbows on her knees. Just that made her wince in pain. She tried to distract herself a little, but without much success.

The nurse lifted up the back of Sharon's uniform tunic.. "You're cut," she explained, reaching for the medical kit beside them. "Nothing needing stitches, though we will have to disinfect it." Sharon nodded, biting her lip. "It feels bruised too..." She turned her head to look up at the older woman who wore the rating marks of a senior attendant. The woman looked to be in her mid-forties, with gray streaking her hair, which meant she was first generation prolong.

The attendant nodded. "Yes, yes, that will heal up soon enough." She sprayed Sharon's back with anti-bacterial, and closed the wound using quick heal. When they'd finished, the older nurse sat at her desk again and brought out an electronic clipboard with a stylus. "I need you to fill this out..." she indicated the assault report form.

Sharon bit her lip and took the pad and stylus, scanning the form and filling in the blanks in the electronic form with as much detail as she could remember. When she was done. she placed her thumb on the pad's scanner, appending her thumbprint as her signature. No one could forge that. Then she handed it back. "That's what I can remember anyways..."

The nurse took it. "Would you like me to comm Lieutenant Williams or Captain Harriman?"

Sharon sighed. "Best to comm the Lieutenant, I think, ma'am. " she said, addressing the attendant respectfully even though the woman was only a senior Navy rating, and not an officer. "Might as well do this by the book." She nervously brushed a few strands of hair from her face, twisting her black beret in her fingers. She hoped the briefing had gone well.

The attendant did so, sending a quick message to Lieutenant Williams that Midshipwoman Ashford needed to see her in medical.

Back in the briefing room, Talon's ears picked up the sound of Beth's comm going off, and the young man watched her.

Beth's eyebrow crept upward as she dug her comm from the pocket of her uniform. Glancing at it, she frowned slightly, but nodded before she turned to Commander Stone. The briefing room was quiet, and a little less formal now that the briefing itself was over. She was concerned about the young Midshipwoman, and she was glad that she was going to be ok.

But that didn't diminish what had happened. "Commander, that was the senior sick berth attendant. She'd attended to Ms. Ashford, and has taken a report." She paused. "Should we bring this to the Captain's attention?" Beth glanced to Talon before she turned back to the Commander. "Sir, the Sick Berth Attendant told me that Ms. Ashford would like to speak with me in Medical. I think you should be there.. as well as Midshipman Sky, since he witnessed the altercation."

Talon rose, offering both Stone and Williams a solemn salute. Stone gave Talon a nod and turned to Beth, no smile on his face. "This is serious, more serious then I would have wished happen on this ship. Let's go."

"Yes, sir." Beth rose, and lead the way from the briefing room to the nearest lift tube. A few minutes later, the trio stepped through the hatch into Medical. At the sound of boots on the decksole, Sharon looked up and moved as if to stand. Beth glanced to Commander Sone and waved her back down. "Stand easy, Ms. Ashford. You wanted to speak with me?" Sharon nodded, her cheeks a little pale as she glanced at each of them in turn. She outlined what had happened, and told them about her injuries, showing the bruise that purpled her forearm.

Talon kept silent, nodding in agreement when Beth or Stone looked to him for confirmation. He stood at ease as well, although he'd hadn't been instructed to. Stone took note of this and smiled quickly, correcting the face before anyone saw it.

Sharon sighed, wishing everything was normal, but she knew she'd have to be on her guard. After a moment, her gaze slid to Stone. "Sir... what happens now..? I've filed the report..." Stone crossed his arms. "That depends on you. Are you up to your duties, Midshipwoman?" he asked Sharon directly, almost knowing the answer in his own heart.

Sharon considered his question for a long moment. The only injury she had that might cause an issue was the sprained wrist. But that would heal. After a moment, she nodded and looked him in the eye. "I am, Sir." She didn't add that the wrist brace would slow her down slightly. That was a given. But she wasn't about to let Young's attack stop her from doing her job.

Stone nodded, clearly approving. "Then you've done all you need to do. I will have a discussion with Mr. Young, move him to another berth perhaps to avoid further conflict if I must. You performed admirably, by the book," Stone added, looking to Talon too. "Both of you."

Sharon blushed. "Thank you, sir..." she replied softly. After a moment, and a glance at Beth, she asked, "Permission to speak freely, Sir...?"

"Permission granted, Midshipwoman," the commander said, looking at Sharon curiously.

Sharon shifted nervously. "Sir... I noticed during the sim that Mr. Young...didn't do much of anything really. He was supposed to be assisting me, but he just sat there. And then, in the showers... he got in my face and wanted me to basically stop doing my job. He thinks HE deserves the credit for what I did during the sim, Sir... and he was quite threatening about it as well, Sir..." She stopped, and nervously twisted her black beret between her fingers.

Stone nodded. "We have taken his actions during the sim into report, same as the both of yours. And thank you, Ms. Ashford. That very well explains his intent." Commander Stone turned to Beth. "I will confront Young, if you wish to set these two to whatever duties you see fit, Lieutenant."

Beth braced to attention. "Sir." She watched him leave Medical, and was glad that she was not one Midshipman Young. For the look in the Exec's eyes had been hard.


End file.
